


A Perfect and Happy Family Photo.

by Ether Vibes (Vriskaserbet)



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: ADHD Character, Autistic Character, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Humor, M/M, More tags will be added as the story progresses, Neopronouns, Nonbinary Character, Sign Language, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, illustrated fanfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-06-25 16:25:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19749412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vriskaserbet/pseuds/Ether%20Vibes
Summary: Habit is an eccentric man, full of mysteries and oddities: this is true even in photos, where he seemingly turns into a complete black shadow. Meanwhile, Putuina is a hyperactive and sweet girl, who finds it hard to stay perfectly still, causing her to become a blur in photos.After it's brought to their attention, the two worry over Kamal, who shares all of these bad photos with his friends. Wanting to give him a perfect professional photo, the two work hard to correct their flaws- no matter what! Of course, it isn't easy, with chaos and hijinks occurring as always.





	1. Muffins, theories, insecurities and the Dark Web.

The entire fiasco started, innocently enough, as an invitation to a small potluck party by his friends. 

Yes, Kamal Bora had friends. He would never describe himself as an extrovert, but he wasn’t particularly antisocial. He preferred smaller friend groups, plus he was capable of forming at least decent bonds with his co-workers almost wherever he went. Though, due to his constant traveling, hopping from one job to the next, he had lost touch with most of his old friends and found himself far too anxious to make contact again. Until he started to get more involved with the World Wide Web, of course.

After reconnecting with them, he was glad that he seemed to settle back into their friendship without much trouble. Some were even closer to his small town then he previously thought! And since most of them were old college friends or various co-workers from past dentist assistant jobs, they all bonded over a mutual guilty pleasure: Teeth of Love.

It was a dentist themed romance mystery drama TV Show— with bullshit writing, overdramatized or completely fabricated dentistry procedures, painful romances, stupid plot twists, constant plot holes and the mystery needing a madman’s cork board to follow…

BUT IT WAS JUST SO GOOD???

Maybe the novelty of having a show about dentists kept them watching. Maybe it was the actors, who did a good enough job despite the awful dialogue. Maybe, they all just couldn’t look away, like some sort of awful car pile up on the highway. Regardless, their AOL hours were wasted every time a new episode aired, logging onto their Teeth of Love chatroom to talk endlessly about it.

_(The real mystery was how the show had five seasons and was still running. In the chatroom, only two people weren’t from their general circle. No one else had made a chatroom, nor did it seem they could find any other fans online. It only deepened their confusion.)_

Either way, the sixth season premiere was airing soon. They discussed it for some time and found, luckily enough, it lined up perfectly for a party to watch it live for everyone nearby. The host, Vanessa, even invited over Kamal’s family. When he brought it up to them, both Habit and Putuina were absolutely excited at the idea. 

Thus, a week later, they were all walking down the street, with Habit holding their pan of roasted vegetables and Putuina carrying their homemade cookies. The two were humming some sort of marching song together, that had Kamal in a perfect mood. When they made it to her house, Kamal walked up the stairs before he turned to face them.

“Okay, remember, they already love you guys.”

“Who wouldn’t love us, papa!!” Putuina yelled, grinning.

“Exactly! I’m just reminding you, especially your dad, that you don’t need to get too nervous when you see my friends. Sure, you’ve never met them, but I’m always sharing photos and stories about us. You aren’t a complete stranger to them.”

“Don’te worry, I’’m ready-e to meet them!! I just hope they like my cooking…” Kamal gestured for Habit to lean down, then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, shush, your food is great. Oh, almost forgot!” Kamal bent down, giving a kiss to Putuina’s cheek. “Make sure you play nice with the other kids. And use your inside voice.”

“GOT IT!!”

Kamal stood back up and faced the door. “Alright then, I’m going to knock. Let’s have fun!”

* * *

An hour passed and so far, it seemed as though things were going swimmingly. Everyone seemed to take in Habit and Putuina well. Kamal was personally enjoying himself. However, as he indulged in muffins while insisting that Dr. Amelia was the russian spy, trouble began to brew.

It started with Habit, talking to a small group of three: Daniel, Sandra and Liz.

“You know,” Liz began, unaware of what she was about to unleash. “I have to ask, how do you keep your hair SO pretty and nice? I swear, my hair is always a mess.”

“It looks nice, tho!! But,” he ran a hand through his curls, “I buy lotes and lotes of good hair productes!! And weekly, I put sum coconut oil into it. Keeps it fresh, like wotering a flower!”

“Well, if it works for you, I’ll give that a try!”

“You know,” Daniel began, “I have to say. You don’t come across as a redhead. You don’t dye it, do you?”

Sandra nodded. “That’s funny, me to! I thought you’d have dark black hair. Maybe a really dark brown.”

Habit paused, brows furrowing, wondering if they were building up to some weird punchline. “Uh... ? What do you… mean?”

They all paused themselves, looking at each other. Daniel spoke up again. “Well… you know, you’ve seen Kamal’s photos of you, right?”

“Of cours!!” 

“Boris,” Liz said, “you never noticed you’re completely black in every photo? How is that even possible?”

“Oh! That!” Truthfully, in the back of his head, he feared that they were referring to… _that._ He always seemed to have bad luck in photos, catching the worst lighting possible— causing him to appear as some sort of living shadow. Only his eyes, in the form of little dots, would appear alongside his smile, that was reduced into a simple line if he closed his mouth.

“Well… y’know… saying… evry photo is a _bitttt_ dramatic…”

“No, it really isn’t.” Liz replied, Daniel and Sandra nodding in reply. “Like. Every single one. Even when you’re in the middle of direct sunlight. Not be mean, it’s a little creepy! Like, how do you do that?”

“I… stand there??”

“...Were you like… cursed or something?” Sandra asked. Habit began sweating.

“U-Uh, I don’’te… think so?? I-” Before the air could get even more painfully awkward, Habit felt a familiar sensation tackle into his leg, tugging at his pants. He looked down, seeing Putuina.

“Oh, flowerbud! Whut is it?”

“Dada, I got something VERY important to ask you! C’mon, follow me! Hurry!” he quietly sighed in relief, handing her his hand.

“Well, I hav 2 go! Haha, we can Catch Up latr!!” He happily let Putuina pull him through the party, quickly going through the various small groups that had developed, reaching to a small corner of the room where people weren’t so densely populated.

Putuina looked around warily, as though someone was tailing after her. Finally, she gestured for him to bend down and get closer, until his ear was near her mouth.

With her hand covering her mouth, just in case anyone could read lips, she loudly whispered, “Can I have permission to beat someone up?”

“What?!” he pulled his face away, returning to standing up.

“Well, okay, maybe not BEAT UP. Maybe like… a quick little tap? Just a quick slap? Maybe a tiny smack?”

“No violence OR punchign, u know that. Now, what happened?”

Putuina frowned with a sigh. “One of the ladies was saying I need to learn how to stand still in my photos and she was REALLY annoying about it!! And she had a little bit of broccoli stuck in her teeth. That isn’t the point, but it was distracting.”

“Oh, my littl flower bud. Don’t worrie! Your always so cut-e in our photos. Yes, blurry-e in a few, but not all of them!”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I promise you! In fackt, I think I saw a comput-er room earlier. I’m shore they will not mine if we borrow it, jus 4 a bit!” The two snuck around the house for a short time, finding the computer room easily. Habit quietly closed the door behind them. Putuina hurried to the desk, tapping her hands on the side impatiently as Habit walked over and sat on the office chair. Once he sat down, she climbed up his body, sitting on his lap.

“Connect to the Web!! Get connected!!”

“Hav patience, the Internet is sleeby and needs time 2 wake up.” A century later, the computer was up and running. Habit clicked on the Internet Explorer icon, typing in Kamal’s website URL. While plain for Habit’s taste— he still thought Kamal should’ve added some rainbow smiley GIFs— it was one of his favorite websites, hosting a large number of photos taken throughout their time as a family. He clicked on the digital photo album, letting it load for a minute before clicking on one of the newer ones.

“Well, thate is a bit of bad luck. You _did_ see a seagulle holding a pizza, that’se a verie good reason to run.” He frowned, taking in his appearance. Ah, it was really noticeable. Did Kamal really show this one to people?

“Try another one! Another one!”

He scrolled a bit, finding one of the earlier ones. “Oh, this is one of my favorite memories…” he clicked on it.

“Ah, no mattur! You were excited, I’m sure we can find another one!” Internally, he fretted at how downright awful he looked in that one. 

Habit clicked on practically every photo, only for both to be disappointed. In each and every one, Habit was a complete shadow while Putuina was either a blur, only halfway into the frame or somewhere in the distance. The two found themselves frowning.

“I’m sorry, my flowerbud :-( I only made your frownie worse.”

Putuina turned around, giving him a hug. “Ya tried!! It’s my fault for not standing still. I just want papa to have a nice photo of me.” He wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her head.

“My sweet flowerbud, it isn’t you’re fault. We both know that it’’s hard for you 2 stay still. You know, you culd try and bring ur littl toy with u more often. You can pput it in a bag, so you won’t lose it. Then, in our next pikture, you’ll show up plain as day! But, I would still need to fix my issue…” He trailed off in thought. Before he could become too lost, he felt Putuina’s little hands tapping his chest. He returned his focus on her, finding stars in her eyes.

“Dada! I got an idea!”

“What is it?”

“Let’s take a new photo, with Mirphy’s fancy camera! As soon as possible! I can bring my toy and she can help you! She probably has super fancy lighting stuff!! Then papa will have a pretty photo to show everyone!”

Habit gasped. “That is an AMAZING IDEA!! :-O!! You are SOOPER smart!! Yes, I’ll contact Mirphy tonight, we will do this!” He giggled and pulled her into a deep hug, Putuina loudly laughing and tightly holding back. The moment was interrupted by a random partygoer, who opened the door, causing them to freeze in place.

“Hey, what are you two doing in here-”

“BUYING STOCKS ON THE DARK WEB!” Putuina shouted at him.

“The dark web!?” 

“Yes!” Habit played along, getting up from the chair, Putuina still in his arms. He shut the computer off before they could look at the browser. “Dark stocks! I jus put sum stocks on Dark Microsoft! If you’ll excuze us, we have some muffins to eat!”

“Yay, muffins!”

* * *

In the end, the party ended well. Kamal’s theory was proven correct, the new season seemed as trashy as ever and they had stuffed themselves well. All recieved goodbyes from the remaining people, with promises to meet up soon. They got in the car, satisfied. 

“Ahh, I’m tired… I can’t wait to go to sleep when we get home.” Kamal reclined his seat slightly, yawning a bit.

“Befor you settle in for a little sleepy time, I was thinking. Do you want to get a prufshesional family photo shoot dune?? We’ve been a fambily for nearl-ye a year now, I think we should give it a Go!!”

  
“Gosh, that’s a really good idea Boris! Do you think Mirphy is open?” Habit turned on the car and started the drive.

“I bet so!! She’s always open 4 us.”

Kamal smiled, a soft expression on his face. “I’m so happy you two had such a fun time today… I love you guys.”

“I love u to, my lily.”

“I LOVE YOU PAPA!!” 

Kamal chuckled and shut his eyes, managing to knock out within a few minutes. Through the rear-view mirror, Habit and Putuina made eye contact and grinned, ready for a perfect photo.

* * *

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A/N: [If you're wondering why this isn't in the end notes anymore, simply put: You can't put chapter notes on each chapter, as both notes will just move to the latest chapter? I _really_ don't want my notes getting mixed up like that, so I hope this isn't a bother. I kinda hate this, since it just reminds me of when 10 year olds on Fanfiction dot net start roleplaying with their characters at the end. Oh well. Okay, time for the original note: 

My second fanfic! Yep, going right into multi-chaptered fics. Plus, I drew art for it. I love living on the edge, I guess. I already have the rest of the story planned, details included, and it should last about four chapters. Wish I could be one of those "this is my fic schedule" kind of people, but I doubt I would be able to do it in time. I'd end up disappointing anyone interested in reading, so I hope no one minds there's no set schedules. Regardless, I'm really passionate about this little fic. I love writing about these three as a family, plus writing these kind of silly domestic plots makes me very happy. This story is very heavy on comedy, so I hope you enjoyed some of my jokes in this one. (Almost made the story title Dark Microsoft, hah.)

One quick detail of this fic: SFM canonically takes place in '94 and I headcanon it takes place during mid or late '94. During this fic, they're in the middle of '95. Also, the exact toy Putuina has will be explained in the next chapter, but it's a type of stim toy.

Next, I hope my art is enjoyable. I'm... rusty at doing full on pictures/drawing past shitty doodles, so apologizes for the inconsistencies. But, I think it came out pretty good! Also, thanks to all of the people in the fandom who made the headcanon that Habit goes into his shadow form whenever anyone takes a photo of him. It's a funny concept and the drawings of that directly inspired this fic! I love all of the headcanons, art and ideas by this fandom... everyone is just so creative. It's really amazing. All of you are amazing!!

By the way, I have my own Tumblr now. It's the same as my username, so it's @ethervibes. I'll be using it for art/writing, plus general SFM headcanons/shitposts and so on. I might reblog some SFM content there as well! (I feel just a bit bad for spamming my main blog so much, but I can't help it. I've shifted into Special Interest Mode and I can't stop.) Feel free to send me a message! I'd love to talk to anyone.

Ah, I ramble so much in these things. To wrap it up, thank you so much for reading. Please leave a kudo/bookmark/comment if you enjoyed this, that means the world to me. Have a great day/night! :-)


	2. Lighting issues, goth girls, screaming and nearly dying.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With only two days before the family photo, Habit and Mirphy work together to finally get him to show up on camera. It's harder then it sounds, though they get help along the way.

Day One. 2:30 PM.

* * *

“Oh, now isn’t this place lovely! You two have really spruced it up and goodness, all the flowers are simply amazing. Smells like Spring in here!”

After the infamous Big Event, Habit was unsure for some time of what exactly he wanted to do with the Habitat. At first, he deeply wanted to just abandon it and never touch it again, but ignoring it would only be ignoring all the hurt he caused. Thus, he had put some thought into it. After discussing it with the former Habiticans, with Kamal and his therapist, he decided to keep it open. In the end, he still wanted to help those with frownies regain their smiles. Plus, there were very little alternatives in the small town for mental health. Of course, he still dreamed of turning the Habitat into a large greenhouse and finally opening up his florist’s shop, but he was willing to wait until everything was ready.

While it was still the Habitat and thus a chaotic mess, it was a bit more proper. Some of the Habiticans stayed, either to continue work, start work there or just needed a place to call home. Dallas, for example, was working as the main art therapist in their new art room, while Jimothon continued his job as the barkeep. Others left, having their own lives to attend to, but they kept constant contact with the group.

Mirphy herself belonged to the latter group. After releasing her shocking butt exhibit, she not only broke free from her crippling art block but finally gained respect from all the photography snobs. She grew in popularity dramatically, all sorts of commissions and opportunities flooding her. After several months of traveling, creating all sorts of exhibits and even working with some famous people, she returned to the small town. Yes, it was to take a break from her work and enjoy personal photography, but she could never turn down a request from Habit. When she couldn’t find enough money to rent out space for her exhibit, he helped her make it— even buying her a new dress, to really wow the critics and visitors. To her, she could never repay him enough.

“I’m glade you like it! Kamal and I hav been worign so hard 2 make it more lively-e!”

Mirphy stopped, a particular new mural catching her eye. 

“Aw, isn’t that cute!”

“Thank u! The wall wuz looking a littl bland aftur we took down that silly old poster and well, I thought this could really spruce it up.”

“You three are too adorable, it should be a crime. I hope they’ll be putting on their best smiles for me!”

“They will, I’m ceurtain they will!”

“Anyways, before we get lost up in this talk,” Mirphy continued walking, entering the carnival area through the open doors, “let’s get some natural light to try out a few shots!”

“You’’r the boss!” Habit followed her lead. Within minutes, she set up shop, getting all of her equipment out from her shoulder bag. She brought her usual camera, with a standard flash, and kept it around her neck. She also had another one set up on it’s tripod legs. Habit stood naturally, with the bright afternoon sun behind him.

“Alright, I’m going to do a few tries without any flash. Maybe it just really washes you out, y’know? Now, take a few steps to the right, you’re too close by that tree.” Habit followed her instruction, Mirphy eyeing the tree’s shadow. Finally, she seemed satisfied. 

“Okay, looking good! Now, give me that big smile!” She held up her camera, focusing it on Habit. As always, he gave a wide closed mouth smile. He held up a peace sign, unsure of what to do with his arms. After a long moment, she took the photo. She changed her own angle, taking a few from his right side, then at his left. 

“Okay, I’m going to check the pictures, relax your pose.” Habit did just that, Mirphy clicking through the menus. She reached the photo library, finding the folder for today’s pictures and clicked on the first one. Despite the afternoon sun, the different angles and how hard she made sure Habit wasn’t under any shadow, it was much of the same. Creepily enough, without the flash, his eyes and smile didn’t even show. It was just pitch black.

Though, she quickly realized that sure enough— with a big enough flash, all of his features would show. “Alright, let’s try out this guy right here!” She walked over to one on the tripod, that had a noticeably larger lens on it.

“I use this baby for when the lighting around me is dim or I need to take a picture from miles away! Seriously, the focus on this one is crazy!”

“Oooh! :-O! That’se very fancie!”

“It should be, since I had to drop a few thousand on this one. Now, move over to my right side, there’s some good sunshine right there.” He followed her word. She took a lot more photos with the tripod, adjusting it’s legs every few photos. Habit stayed perfectly still, even as a baseball suddenly flew from the roof and nearly struck Mirphy. 

“HEY, WHO THREW THAT!?” she screamed at the rooftop, cheeks flushed. Faintly, they could hear someone scream, but it was hard to pinpoint the voice. “I’LL COME UP THERE AND DRINK YOUR BONE MARROW, YOU FU-”

“Now, now!” Habit hoped she wouldn’t storm off, he really didn’t want to break his pose. Or call a Carla to break up a fight. “Tht mustt’ve been an accide-nt!”

“Well, it better not happen again. If anything happens to my cameras, I’m willing to make the Habitat into the world’s biggest crime scene.” She paused. “Anyways! Go ahead and drop the pose, let me check these ones!” To her confusion, there was very little change. Excluding his eyes and smile showing, he was still that identical shadow.

  
“...Y’know, let’s go back inside. You have some pretty nice windows, it brings in a lot of nice lighting!” 

The change didn’t help much. Mirphy looked at the newest batch of photos, shaking her head.

“No good. This is getting weird… seriously, this doesn’t make sense!” she squinted her eyes at one, wondering if the shade of black lightened _just_ slightly. “It’s like you were cursed.” A few seconds passed, then Habit looked just behind her, waving at someone. Mirphy turned slightly, to see who it was, and good ol’ Trevor nearly smacked right into her legs.

“Oi, didn’t you were still around! You work here?”

He chuckled, arms outstretched as he launched into a rant. “Of course! I’m always working, always searching, always looking for the right pieces to fit this wide, cryptic puzzle that is the Habitat!” He paused, letting go of his pose for a moment. “Oh, I also do some volunteer work here and Jerafina tutors me! But enough about that! I heard you, just right now, over Habit being cursed!”

“Wow, you have good hearing-”

“Of course! Werewolves come from the majestic and epic wolves, that can hear up to six or ten miles away. Thus, werewolves have double that hearing range! Especially when it involves my specialty. Follow me you two, I will show you the truth and free Habit’s soul from it’s treacherous shadow demon curse!” He laughed darkly, turning on his heel and letting his flowing coat and scarf flutter slightly… pretty cool, even if he immediately nearly tripped and stumbled forward a couple steps. He ran the rest of the way to the boiler room.

“...Okay, let’s continue with our work.”

“Wait-e, but whut if he culd help? Trev-or is a prettie smart kid!” Mirphy thought to protest, but Habit’s begging eyes quickly had her swayed.

“Oh, fine, it wouldn’t hurt. Alright, let’s see what the little ankle biter has to say.”

When they arrived, Trevor had already set up his “office.” It was just a plastic desk with a white tarp over it, plus some beams that held up a notebook paper sign that just said “DR. TREVOR” in sparkly red ink. He had a dark red backpack in his hands, that was pulling all sort of items out of: a worn looking journal, a large spell book and a monster based encyclopedia. There was also an iced coffee on the table, that he took a quick sip from.

He set the backpack down by his chair. “Oh, hang on, I’m almost done. Lemme grab some seats for you two.” He walked to the left wall, where foldable plastic chairs laid. He opened them up, putting them in front of his display. He returned to his side of the office and opened up the encyclopedia. 

The book was well loved, all sorts of notes written on the margins, words highlighted and circled. He flipped through it, quickly landing on a page labeled “Shadow Creatures.” It had a detailed image of a humanoid figure, their form colored by intense black scribbling that occasionally escaped the outline. 

“So, I’ve been doing some research on your condition. In my professional opinion, you may descend from one of these.” He held the book out, letting them see the image. “They’re called shadow creatures. No one knows where they come from, but they’ve been documented across history! From indigenous legends to current paranormal anamalies… er, anomalies! Some people think they’re angels and some think they’re aliens. Personally, I think they’re monsters from another dimension that emerge when there’s a lot of strange Going-ons in one place. But the cool goth lady who works at the witch shop I always go to has her own theory— that I think makes a lot of sense!”

He flipped to the next page, showing one looming over a bed. “She thinks that shadow creatures are created by one’s own anxieties, trauma or just the bad vibes from other people. That’s why they’re often seen in people in sleep paralysis, ‘cuz they sense that you’re all freaked out and stuff. I believe her, she’s really smart! She gives me the best advice about this kinda stuff and like, school stuff.”

Habit nodded, a rare serious look on his face. Mirphy, on the other hand, had her brow raised. 

“Alright, but how does that matter?” She asked.

Trevor took a long sip of his iced coffee before he spoke up again. “So, Habit, I’m just going to go right ahead and say it: You’re omega-cursed, like, I’m talking french fries in ice cream bad energy. My best guess is that your parents, due to being the Worst, probably bought a house on some abandoned graveyard and probably smashed some skulls back into the ground themselves and the bad vibes just infected you growing up— sorry to hear about that one chief. I got a few suggestions, but my mom banned my ouija board after I scared my sisters and I’m not too sure how you feel about committing arson, so your best chance is to try out some of these crystals!” 

He leaned to the right, grabbing his school backpack. After ruffling through the bag, he pulled out several pitch black gemstones, all oval in shape. He placed them on the table, letting Habit and Mirphy inspect them.

“These are Onyx gems. I’ve learned through my crystal encyclopedia, plus what the cool goth lady tells me whenever I visit the witch shop, that Onyx gems are the BEST for absorbing negative energies!”

“Their’re so smooth! I luv this textur-e.” Habit complimented, already using it as a makeshift stim toy by fidgeting with it, moving it along his fingers. 

Mirphy placed hers back on the table. “So… you’re telling me that… magic rocks are supposed to make him show up on pictures?”

Trevor crossed his arms. “First, gemstones aren’t rocks. Second, with all of your “Cutting Edge Science” and “Technology” and “Bill Nye” how do you explain Habit’s condition?”

“Well-” she started, quickly pausing. “You see… it’s really easy to explain… logically, it’s…” finally, Mirphy stopped. After a long moment in deep thought, she closed her mouth and finally shook her head. “Okay, you’re right. Habit, you’re definitely cursed.”

  
“:-(“ 

“You see! I’m right. So, take some of these gemstones home with ya. You gotta charge ‘em first. Basically, just find a dark place to be alone, light some candles and just say what you want ‘em to do like. Over and over and over again until it feels right.”

Trevor moved the onyx gems into a small pile, letting Habit take all of them in his hand and stuff them into his coat pocket. 

“Thank u 4 th help. What do eye owe?”

Trevor looked surprised. “O-Oh, you don’t owe me anything! Besides, I’m babysitting your kid in like two weeks, you can just repay me then.”

“Oh, I insist! We’re friends Trevor! It doesn’t haf to be a lot, just name a price!”

Trevor shrugged his shoulders, swishing his drink with the green straw. “Well, alright then. Well, factoring I’m loaning you a bunch of my gems, gave you advice and let you look at my precious resources… how about five?” He went to take a sip.

“Five hundred? Shore!”

Trevor immediately choked on his drink, coughing it up. While Habit went to check on him, Mirphy was deep in thought in her seat, rubbing her chin. She stood up from her chair, a smile on her face.

“Well, you go and try that Habit. I got a plan of my own to try! How about you and I meet up here tomorrow, same time in the afternoon?”

“Oh, that sounds lovely-e! Now Trevor, are u alright?”

“Sure, I’m fine,” Trevor wheezed out. “I’ll take the money, go on, I’m good.”

* * *

Day One. 8:30 PM.

The setup seemed perfect: They all had a wonderful dinner. His sweet and beautiful daughter was enjoying a sleepover with her best friend. They were probably playing a video game or watching a movie, something fun and sweet. The dishes were done and the couch was just waiting for him and his boyfriend to cuddle up on, watching a movie of their own and sharing kisses before they headed in for bed. 

So, Kamal really didn’t understand why the hell Habit was in their bedroom with the lights turned off— random candles lit on the floor in an ominous circular position. He had his back turned to the door, unaware Kamal was peeking in on him, his outstretched hands holding shiny black gems.

_“Free me from this curse… free me from this curse…”_ he whispered to himself, quietly, that sounded even scarier when it came from his damn deep voice. Kamal was sweating, mentally storing the memory away in the metaphorical “DO NOT OPEN” cabinet. Yep, along with the time he said “Thanks, you to” when the waitress told him to enjoy his meal or basically all of middle school. He backed away slowly, making sure to close the door as quietly as he opened it—

“Hey, have you seen my tangle-” Putuina’s question was interrupted by Kamal letting out an ungodly screech, Habit screaming back in fear, with Putuina joining along with a high pitched one out of pure joy. 

In Putuina’s room, Millie sat on the bed in absolute confusion.

* * *

At the same time, Mirphy typed away at her computer, while her pet cat purred right by the keyboard.

_brongoli_1684: Yessum ma’dame, tht can all be accp’lomishjed. We gots pleunty lights lying bout and i was planzing a dump visit to-nite anywayz._

_brongoli_1684: jus make sure i get my good phat paybment tomorrouw._

_mirphy_71: Don’t worry, you’ll have what you want. Just do your part of this deal._

* * *

Day Two. 1:20.

“Bor-bor, how’s the website looking?” Kamal asked, peeking over Habit’s shoulder to get a look for the website.

“Ah, no peie-king!!” He quickly blocked his line of view by sitting up slightly, taking full advantage of his ungodly height. Kamal stuck his tongue out, albeit while laughing.

“Fine, fine, I was just curious. I’ll leave you be, then.”

“Wait!”

“Hm?” Habit blushed, grabbing Kamal’s hand and quickly giving it a little smooch. Kamal’s cheeks flushed.

“You’re such a cute dork. I love you,” with that, he gave a quick kiss to Habit’s in return.

  
“I luv u 2!!!” Kamal walked to the other side of the room, returning to his work of sorting through the newest applications.

Habit tried to return to the website, though still found his stomach in knots. Tomorrow, Mirphy would take their photo. Today was his last chance to fix his issue. The onyx gems did leave a comforting weight in his pockets, even if he ended scaring Kamal with them last night. Worst yet, he couldn’t even fully explain what he was doing— the idea of Kamal saying the truth, that all of their pictures were ruined by his odd shadow self, was too much for him to bare.

Habit paused, realizing that he had been lost in thought and dragged too many of that clapping stuffed animal onto the page. He clicked them away, one by one, sighing just slightly. As he finished up, his open chat room received a message.

He opened it up and was pleased to see that it was Flower Kid.

sunflower_petals: Hey, Habit!! =D! The end of my next route stops at the Habitat! Wanna hang out then??? I’ll probably come around in twenty minutes.

doctor_lily57: Shore! I hav 2 do a thinmg with Mirphy around 2:30, so I hope u do’nt mind that.

sunflower_petals: =D Aw, Mirphy’s gonna be here to??? What’s the occasion?

doctor_lily57: Well… acktually, do u mind if I vent 2 u?

sunflower_petals: Go ahead!! =>

A few minutes later, Habit had the situation and his concerns all typed out. 

sunflower_petals: =( Sorry to hear that!! I get your concerns and stuff, but I’m sure Kamal doesn’t mind the photos! You could always try and ask him. =P But I get if you’re nervous or you just want to follow through with what you’re doing. Just do what feels right and remember, you’re a cool guy!

doctor_lily57: :-) Thank you, Flower Friend.

* * *

Day Two. 1:30.

“Wel-come! Always goode to haf you here!” Flower Kid waved, eirs usual bouquet in eirs arms. Habit gave em a quick but tight hug, Flower Kid happily squeezing back.

“So, who is luckee-e enough to get ur flowers?” Flower Kid reached into eirs bouquet, pulling out the little card of information. 

“I knowe where their usulallly at! Let me show u where they are.” Habit turned around and began taking a few steps, only for ey to pull out eirs old camera, wait a moment and take a picture of Habit from behind.

Habit turned around, hearing the noise and stood there confused— Flower Kid looking wide eyed at the developed polaroid. 

“What is it, Flower Friend?” Frantically, Flower Kid held up the camera again.  
“Oh, you wunt to take a picture of me? ” Ey nodded aggressively.

“Wait! Do I look different?” Ey nodded again. Habit quickly went into pose, his heart racing at the very thought. Flower Kid took the snapshot, the polaroid coming out the next second. Habit went to Flower Kid’s side, getting a look at it.

After the initial shock, joy blossomed in his soul, the overwhelming feeling reaching his entire body. He began to flap his arms, his pace intense and fast, his smile growing wider and wider. 

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes! :-D!!!!”

* * *

Day Two. 2:30.

On the rooftop, Mirphy couldn’t stop looking at the photo. “Trevor had a point, but I’m still shocked it actually worked. I’m happy for you, Habit!”

“Thank you!” His arms ached just a bit from how hard he stimmed, but he was far too pleased to care too much.

“Well, I’m going to do a quick photo on my camera. Sit on that chair, smile at me.” She was quicker than usual. Her photo had no change from Flower Kids, though it was still rather impressive to at least see more of his features, as shadowed as they still were.

“Okay, just as I thought. So, Habit, you might’ve noticed the giant thing underneath the tarp.” She gestured towards the elephant in the room. It was hard to tell what it was or what it could be, only that it was plugged into the nearest wall socket and had rather large protrusions on the side sticking out.

“I did notic-e that!”

“So, I got Gerry to build me a little something something last night and he finished it up this morning. This will finally be enough light to make sure you show up!” She pulled the tarp, revealing the creation.

It was a bunch of lightweight red construction beams melded together at the ends, taking a wide square shape, with car tires on the bottom to move it around. Large stage lights were glued onto the side, with light bulbs and fairy lights strung around the open spaces.

“Gerry made this?”

“I know! I tested it out earlier and it works perfectly!” Mirphy reached into her shoulder bag, pulling out a TV remote. “He rewired this remote to control it. Watch!” She pressed a button, one of the stage lights turning on. 

_“Ooo!”_

Mirphy smiled. “If this doesn’t make you show up, I don’t know what will. Let’s get started!

Habit stood in front of it, it’s frame built like a photo frame; giving Mirphy plenty of space to take his picture She fiddled with the remote for a bit, causing a few of the lights to turn on. Habit squinted slightly, though it wasn’t anything overwhelming.

“Okay, pose for me!” Habit did so. Mirphy readied her camera, letting it slowly focus on his well-lit face. She gulped and began to press down on the button.

As she did, however, the machine made a highly concerning static noise, all of the lights turning on at once to unleash a blinding amount of light before fizzing out. The picture was taken and Habit clutched his eyes, crying out in pain.

“Habit?! Are you okay?” Mirphy ran to his side. 

“I-I’m fine! Reallie! More importantlie, do I look good?”

“U-Uh, lemme check,” Mirphy quickly clicked through the menus, pulling up the picture. Her concern for Habit disappeared for a moment after she processed what she saw: A perfect photo of Habit smiling right back at her! Nothing was shadowed, nothing hidden or obscured!

“You look great, Habit! You did it!”

“R-Really?! Show me, show me!” Mirphy presented the camera to Habit, who managed to open his eyes slightly, peeking through his sharp fingers.

“...I’ll take ur word for it! I did it!!!!”

“Woah, can you not see at all?”

“Of course I can see! It’s just… verrie, verie blurry!”

“Okay, you’re blind. Hold my hand.”

“Don’t be worryeying! I can walk a-round just fine! I knowe this place like the back of my hand!”

Habit, admittedly, was proved himself capable of doing so. He went across the rooftop and the stairs without any issue.

That is, until, an exhausted looking Trevor attempted to say hi to him on the other side of the second floor— Habit tried to walk over and ended up nearly falling off the rails and plummeting to his literal death.

He finally accepted her hand.

* * *

Day Three: 6:30.

Habit, casually sporting his cherry shaped sunglasses, sat at the dinner table, reaching around the table for the jelly. Kamal and Millie stared at him, unsure of how he was missing it. It was literally in front of him. Meanwhile, Putuina let out a loud yawn, her half-lidded eyes repeatedly nearly closing completely before she would force herself awake again with a jolt.

“Uh. It’s. A little closer to the right.” Kamal said, Habit managing to grab it after that.

“Oh! Thank you! :-) I hope everyone is excited for the photoshoot today! Aren’t you, Putuina?”

She promptly fell asleep and face-planted right into her food.

* * *

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A/N: [If you're wondering why this isn't in the end notes anymore, simply put: You can't put chapter notes on each chapter, as both notes will just move to the latest chapter? I _really_ don't want my notes getting mixed up like that, so I hope this isn't a bother. I kinda hate this, since it just reminds me of when 10 year olds on Fanfiction dot net start roleplaying with their characters at the end. Oh well. Okay, time for the original note: 

And here's chapter two! Everybody, thank you so much for waiting for the next chapter and leaving such nice comments on the first one. I hope this was worth the wait. I spent a lot of time working on this one, because I really wanted this to shine. Thank you to Vriskaserbet/Bri for editing my work as always, plus a huge thank you to my best friend who gave me ideas while I was jotting down notes for the plot and gave me comfort when a particular scene was giving me trouble.

You might've guessed already, but as this chapter focused on Habit, the next one will focus on Putuina. The original draft for this was going to be a one-shot, but my ideas for both of their perspective journeys ended up being too long. I also felt that it felt more cohesive for them to have their own chapters, so they could both have a nice focus on the comedy/pacing without having to cut scenes or end things abruptly.

Also, I hope people don't mind that I used the Habitat as the setting for this one. Yes, I want Habit to be a florist and make the Habitat into a greenhouse as well; but I honestly felt like this particular plot works best if they still had the Habitat. Plus, save myself the time on having to worry about making a whole new area. I've played Smile For Me like 495895 times already, so it's pretty burned into my brain.

Lightning round comments I want to make real quick: I learned that I love writing for Trevor and already, he's high up on the list. The goth girl character I mentioned is actually my Smile For Me OC, she's still in beta of what her whole quest would be, but her main thing is that she's basically Trevor's cool Goth Friend/Sister Figure. I hope people caught the reference, but Trevor's gag with the money is based on this vine that I love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5VTLbPtn5U . Gerry's username is brongoli because if you check his wikia page, the comments are basically nothing but people calling him that that and it's funny. The 1684 is him wanting to come off as older then he actually is so he can scam people online. Yes, I love Gerry so much.

Well, now that I've done my usual Great Gatsby rambling, time to wrap everything up. Thank you so much for reading. please leave a kudo/bookmark/comment if you enjoyed this, that means the world to me. Have a great day/night! :-)


	3. Napping, going feral, pogs and being the best sister.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, Putuina and her sister tackle the issue together; unaware of some of the chaos they would cause as a result.

Day One: 6:30 AM.

* * *

Kamal heard her from a mile away, her feet making little pitter patters on the hardwood floor in the other room. The footsteps became louder, until they finally made their way into the kitchen. He looked over, finding Putuina already dressed out of her pajamas. Her hair was still adorably messy from sleep.

“Good morning, sunshine! You excited for your playdate today?” Kamal asked. Putuina nodded intensely.

“I can’t wait!! Millie and I have a big day planned!! Her mom got her cool stuff from Florida that she’s gonna show me, then we’re gonna play games and run around outside!! And when we get home for our sleepover, we’re gonna watch Care Bears and she’s gonna bring Star Fox so we can play it on my SNES!!” She flapped her hands wildly, stars shining in her eyes.

“Ohhh, is that so? That’s really cool!” 

“Yeah! It’s gonna be awesome!”

“Just remember, your dad won’t be in the Habitat until the afternoon and he’ll be busy with Mirphy for a little bit. So don’t bother them while they’re working, okay?”

“Okay! Is breakfast almost done?”

“Mmhmm. I made you your favorite.”

“Waffles!? With peanut butter on top!?” As if on cue, Eggo waffles popped up from the toaster. 

“Go sit at the table, I’m almost done.”

“YAY!” She ran off to the room, leaving Kamal smiling in the kitchen.

* * *

Day One: 8:50 AM.

“Okay, you see this hat, right?” Millie and her were hanging outside, their backs against the walls. Millie’s backpack was open, right next to Putuina’s own backpack, all of her Florida related items in a clutter around them. She held out a dark green snapback, the back facing Putuina. 

Putuina nodded, her cheeks stuffed with orange slices.

“Look what’s on the front.” She turned it around, showing an embroidered alligator on the front. 

“Boom. Super cool, right?”

“Wow! That’s ultra cool!” Putuina swallowed the orange, throwing it’s skin into the ever lit tire fire. Millie placed the cap on her head, smirking.

“Looks even cooler on me, right?”

“You look like you won that in an underground alligator wrestling match!”

“Damn right! Florida is awesome, you and I should totally go there together when we’re older. Then we can both wrestle alligators!” Putuina picked up one of the photos, taken by Millie’s mother during their vacation, and admired the alligator’s face.

“I dunno if I’d wanna fight ‘em. They’re too cute! They got kissable faces.”

“What? No way, they’re badass.” 

“They’re super cute! I wanna smooch those snouts!”

“Oh, whatever,” she rolled her eyes, “We can fight the flamingos, then.”   


“Yeah!!”

Millie laughed, reaching over to put her stuff back into her backpack. Putuina joined in as well. 

“So, what’re gonna do today?” Millie asked.

“I got a bunch of stuff planned! Oh, before I forget, my dada has to do some work with Mirphy today in the afternoon so we gotta make sure we don’t bother them!!”

“With Mirphy? Is Habit trying to be a model?”

Putuina giggled at the thought. “I wish! We’re gonna have a family photo soon, a professional one!”

“Ugh, I hate doing those. My dad always makes me wear stupid dresses and my mom always wanted to straighten my hair.” She ran her hand through her wavy hair. “You can’t tame this mess!”

“It’ll be fun for us!” Her smile faltered though, looking at the photos she had in her hand. Millie showed up clear as day, doing several poses perfectly for the camera. “I just hope I don’t mess it up…”

“Woah, woah, hang on. It’s time for big sis Millie to get involved.” She grabbed the brim of her hat, turning it around until the back faced the front. She was officially in Big Sister Mode.

“What’s up?”

Putuina sighed, handing Millie the pictures. “I can’t stand still like you for too long. I got a lotta energy to release and it’s really easy for me to get distracted. Even when I don’t want to! So, I’m a blurry mess in every photo papa has of me. I want papa to have nice photos of me, like you do with your family.”

Millie paused. She reached over to wrap an arm around her. “Hey sis, don’t feel too bad. Your dads are really cool people, they know you have ADHD and stuff. I’m sure they don’t really mind it.”

“Maybe. But still… I still wanna do this for papa. And dada already paid Mirphy, so we gotta do it.”

“I get that, I get that. But hey, seriously, don’t beat yourself up. Try to take it as… advice for the future! You can’t travel back in time to fix your mistakes, so just fix ‘em now.”

“Okay.” Putuina gave a small smile. “Thanks, big sis.”

“No prob, lil’ sis! Y’know, how are ya gonna stay still anyways? Glue yourself to the floor?”

“That’s a good idea! But nope, I’m going to use my tangle toy! I took it with me today to practice.” Putuina reached for her backpack, unzipping it. “I don’t take it with me everywhere, but I use it at school a lot, especially on test days! It helps me stay focused and not drift into daydreams!” She reached to where she kept it, but frowned when she didn’t feel it. She searched her backpack, feeling around for a moment before she eventually dumped the entire contents to the floor.

She blinked. “Nevermind, I forgot it!” 

“Aw, you gotta be careful with that. What if you forget it on picture day?”

“I wouldn’t…!” She replied, though her voice was unsure. “...Maybe I would… I probably will.” she began putting her things away messily, shoving them all into her bag. “But I won’t! I won’t let myself forget it!”

“I believe ya! Maybe just let one of your dads hold onto it when we go home, then.”

“Wait, I was gonna practice with it today! Aw man, I’m gonna lose a whole day of work!!”

Millie hummed in thought. “You know, there’s always other methods to try out.”

Putuina tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“I know it’s deeper than just having pent up energy, but you seriously do have a lot of energy to burn. Why can’t we work on practicing getting all that energy of your system before you have to stand still, so you don’t feel as antsy about it!”

“That’s a great idea, big sis! What should we try first?” Millie reached out and tapped her shoulder.

“Tag! You’re it!” Millie took off running, Putuina quickly giving chase.

Millie kept a good pace, though when she looked behind her shoulder— Putuina was already on her heels, her eyes shining with determination. She tried to lengthen her stride, giving her a bit of space from Putuina. In response, Putuina pulled her body back far in one step then launched herself forward in the next. The tackle jump reached Millie, knocking them both in the ground.

“Tag!”

“Oh, I’m going to get you!”

Ten minutes later, a rather exhausted Millie slowed down her pace, hands on her knees as she regained her breath. Meanwhile, Putuina was still running around, only becoming aware the game was over when she passed by her. Putuina slowed down to a halt.

“You rest! I’ll keep running, comrade!” She returned to her previous pace, starting to do laps around the carnival. Millie wordlessly nodded, still panting. Once she regained her breath, she began thinking of her next action.

“Hey!” she called out, once Putuina was coming near her. “I got an idea! Take a break from that and follow me!”

“Okay!” 

Millie grabbed Putuina’s hand, the two of them heading back into the Habitat. She guided them to the lounge, hopping down the steps in big leaps. After entering the lounge, they walked over towards the seats by the counter. They got on the seats, standing up on their feet in order to rest their arms on the counter. It was then Jimothan spotted them, who quickly finished a drink for one of the patrons before turning to them.

“Putuina! Millie!” he smiled wide. “It’s so good to see you two! I was gonna check up on you girls on my break. How was Florida, Millie? Did you get to wrestle a ‘gator?”

“Well, I love to stay and chat, but I need your help.”

“Oh, sure! What is it, kiddos?”

“I have no idea!” Putuina replied. 

“Oops, totally forgot to tell you my idea. Anyways, Putuina needs to burn some energy. I was thinking, you got any sports stuff lying around in your room? Like, a soccer ball or something?”

“I do, actually. When I first came here, I brought some sports stuff. I thought Parsley and I could throw a couple of footballs around. Catch up, y’know. ‘Course, we didn’t do that stuff. He’s not a “Sports” guy. I know that now, so most of that stuff has been collecting dust in there. ‘Cept for the weights! I stay jacked and buff, y’know!”

“Sure, sure,” Millie nodded. “So, if you’re not using the rest of that stuff, you mind if we borrow some stuff? We promise to put it back!”

“Well… I’d prefer if I could take you there myself. So, you’re gonna have to wait ‘till my break.”

“Aww, that’s gonna take forever! I promise, we won’t mess up your room! Pleaseeee?” she gave her best set of begging eyes. Jimothan attempted to look away, though the magnetic pull of her kitten eyes were too much.

“...Okay, just PROMISE me you two won’t mess up my room?” They both nodded. 

“Well, alright then. I’ll give you the key under one condition.”

“What’s that?” Millie asked. Jimothan bent down, opening the small mini-fridge kept under the counter. He pulled out two cool water bottles, handing it to them along with his key.

“Stay hydrated, have fun and play safely! ...And don’t snoop through my room. Seriously.”

“Thanks!” Millie grabbed the key and her bottle, hopping off the chair.

“Thank you!!” Putuina stuffed the bottle in her backpack, waving goodbye as she followed Millie.

As they walked out of the lounge, Putuina spoke up.

“So, we’re totally gonna snoop around?”

“Yeah we are!”

* * *

  
  


Day One: 9:50 AM.

“I did it! I finally got it open!!” Putuina said. With their combined heights, Putuina standing on the top of Millie’s hands, they were barely able to reach the lock of the door. She carefully let her down, the two of them pushing the door open.

It was a typical room in the Habitat. There was a bed with red blankets to the wall, with a nightstand right next to it. On top of the nightstand were framed photos, all of them being Parsley. On the walls were posters, mostly of bands neither of them knew or vaguely recalled from their own parents record collections. To the right, he actually had a few weights tucked into the corner. 

“Alright, you open the closet and pick out some sports equipment, I’m gonna check his nightstand.”

“Okay!” 

Putuina opened the closet, immediately dodging a few soccer balls that came tumbling out. The closet was cluttered with all sorts of sports gear and balls, along with a few still unpacked boxes. Carefully, she walked in and crawled into the mess. She would chuck what she liked out of the closet, forming a small pile by the door. Meanwhile, Millie looked through the drawers. The first two were disappointing, just where he kept his clothes, but the third one had her gasping.

“Putunia! I found the ultimate jackpot!”

“His diary!?” 

“Even better!” An audible crash was heard, a few tennis balls rolling into the pile.

“HIS SOUL!?”

_ “Even better!” _

Putuina hopped out of the closet and gasped, seeing Millie holding several clear bags stuffed to the brim with balloons. In case if Millie’s intention wasn’t obvious, the bags all had the word ‘water balloons’ written in sharpie. 

* * *

Day One: 10:30 AM. 

It took some time to find some buckets to hold the balloons, along with actually filling them up— but they were finally ready. Millie bounced the water balloon in her hand, giving a grin to Putuina who held Jimothan’s baseball bat.

“Ready?”

“I’m ready to hit a home run!” Millie nodded, got into proper placement and threw the balloon as hard as she could. Putuina swung at the balloon, immediately breaking into laughter as it exploded onto her.

Millie bent down to grab another one, well aware that it was going to break into outright war. 

* * *

Day One: 2:30 PM. 

Millie yawned, sitting on the bench on the rooftop. Despite her half-lidded eyes, she was still able to catch the baseball with ease. She threw it back to Putuina, who threw it with as much energy as she would a few hours ago. 

Over the past few hours, they had done everything and tried everything. Even after the last water balloon popped, they still continued on with all of Jimothan’s stuff. They played countless rounds of soccer, football, hockey and frisbee, Millie even showing Putuinna how to play golf. Regardless of her effort, Putuina’s energy seemed almost supernatural, a never ending fountain that couldn’t be drained. Meanwhile, her legs were aching from the nonstop action and she desperately wanted to curl into a pile of blankets and take a nice nap. 

The very idea had her eyes shut for a moment. Before she could rest, the loud smack of the baseball hitting the bench had her jolt awake. The baseball rolled back to Putuina. She looked at Millie for a long moment, brows furrowed. 

“Big sis, are you tired?”

“Me? Tired? No way!” She quickly rubbed her eyes, giving herself a little slap on the cheeks to keep her alert. “Don’t worry. Want to play something else?”

Putuina thought to herself, before she picked up the baseball and began juggling it in her hands. “You can take a little kitty nap, sis! I got it! I can keep myself busy!”

“Okay… sure…” she adjusted herself, laying down on her side. Despite the hard metal of the bench, she was quickly asleep. 

Putuina kept herself busy for a few minutes, doing various tricks with the baseball or catching it from the air, but quickly she grew bored without Millie keeping her engaged. She bounced the ball between her hands and sighed. Before she could get bored of being bored, she did notice a little movement while looking out at the carnival.

It was her dad, with Mirphy! He was doing a pose for Mirphy, staying still as she seemed to take an endless amount of pictures— adjusting her tripod every few pictures to get him at every possible angle. She remembered Kamal’s words, but she still wanted to say hi at least, to do something to get his attention.

And before she thought it out, she threw the baseball as hard as she could at them. She didn’t fully process what she did until it nearly struck Mirphy, causing her to gasp and take a step back. 

“HEY, WHO THREW THAT!?” Putuina screamed so loud it was audible to Mirphy, all the way from the rooftop. She ran to the bench, shaking Millie awake. Millie rolled over groggily, eyes barely open.

“Huh? Who’se dyin-” 

“WE GOTTA CHEESE IT!” Putuina pulled Millie up and the two quickly ran down the stairs, praying Mirphy didn’t see either of them.

* * *

Day One. 8:20 PM.

She hadn’t seen either of them, thankfully. Millie ended up getting her needed nap afterwards, leaving her plenty of energy to continue the rest of their play date. They played a game of Life— Millie winning by a mile— before Putuina put in her VHS of Care Bears on. Despite her tomboyish appearance, Millie was willing to fight and die for every single one of them. For the night, she basically adopted Putuina’s Brave Heart Lion plush as her son.

After dinner, they changed into their pajamas and settled in for Star Fox. They played for some time, reaching stage three before Putuina suddenly found herself pondering.

“...Am I forgetting something?” she paused the game, so she wouldn’t lose a life and give up the controller prematurely. 

“Hmm...wait, weren’t you gonna look for your tangle?”

“AH!! That’s it!! Here, keep playing! I’mma look for it.” she got up, walking to where she usually kept it— in her bucket of pencils. The tangle usually poked out on the side, though it was strangely absent. She pushed the pencils around, just in case if it fell deep inside. She didn’t worry when it was missing there, she just walked over her toy box and began pulling out her various toys and dolls; where she tended to accidentally put it. There, she didn’t find anything, though she did find her old Malibu Barbie! The one that lost her arm in the Barbie war! And she used her power to control electricity to stop her half sister from— ah, she forced herself to put her back in the box before she would lose herself in memories. 

She searched around her room, in her usual spots and where it’d probably wind up. Worryingly, she couldn’t find it anywhere. 

“Hey, sis! I’mma ask papa or dada if they’ve seen it.”

“Alright!” 

Millie relaxed on the bed, entering the main battleship’s insides. She avoided obstacles in silence, enjoying the catchy game music. It was interrupted by an ungodly screech erupting from the other room, slightly muffled from the walls, followed by two other screams joining in. 

Millie blinked, wondering when she had entered a circus. 

* * *

Day One:  _???. _

It was as fun as they imagined. The texture was smooth and nice on their hands. It clicked and moved effortlessly as they fidgeted with it, turning it around and manipulating its shape as they played with it. In the back of their mind, they were aware they should really just hurry back to her home and return it. They knew how to pick locks, of course. They could do it.

They would do it later. In another minute or so. It was just such a nice little toy. And since it wasn’t purple in anyway, it was even better.

* * *

Day Two. 6:30 AM.

“Anie luck on finding it, flower bud?” Habit asked, placing her plate of eggs and toast onto the table. 

She shook her head. “Nope. Me and Millie looked everywhere! I’m sorry if I lost it…” 

Kamal bent down to give her a quick kiss on her head, putting a plate of fruit near her. “Oh, don’t be sorry. You’ve gotten better at keeping your things tidy and not forgetting things, it’s alright if you make a little mistake. I’m sure it’ll turn up soon!”

“Exactlie, my lily!” The two shared a brief kiss. Putuina smiled slightly at them.

“Thank you, papa.” she turned to her plate and began to eat. Millie looked over, a concerned look on her face. She fidgeted with her fork, then got up from her chair. 

“Hey, uh, Kamal? Habit? I gotta ask you something. Can we talk in the other room?”

“Oh! Uh, sure! We’ll be right back Putuina, you keep eating.” Kamal said, the three quickly leaving into the other room. Habit shut the door behind them, Millie pausing a bit before she spoke. 

“Um… is it okay if I stay one more night? My sis needs me right now and well… I didn’t want to get her hopes up, just in case if my dad says no That’s why I wanted to this privately..”

“Oh, you’re so sweet! And, well...” Kamal looked over to Habit. “I say yes, but only if it’s okay with Bor-Bor.”

“Of course!! U’re such a good sister. :-)”

A brief phone call later, Millie returned to the table to announce the sleepover was being extended another night. Putuina’s immediate burst into excited stimming softened her parents hearts.

* * *

Day Two: 12:30 PM. 

“UH OH!!! HERE COMES THE GIANT HORSE!” Putuina let out a dramatic neigh, crashing the Knight figurine onto the game board. The mix of Chess and Checker pieces went everywhere, scattering onto the floor.

Millie gasped. “You’ve made your greatest mistake! You’ve awakened HER anger!! You FOOL! NO ONE HAS SURVIVED THE WRATH OF THE QUEEN!!!” Millie slowly lifted her plastic crocodile, that had a paper crown taped to its head, from under the table before chucking it across the board. More pieces fell onto the floor, the sheer noise nearly deafening. 

“Girls, please don’t make too much of a mess. And… please. Play normally.” Jimothan interrupted.

“Okay! Anyways, go fish.” Putuina tossed a poker card at Millie.

“Alright! Touchdown and fifty points!”

_ “How does this game work?” _ Jimothan muttered to himself, shaking his head. Yet, he couldn’t look away.

“Ya-hoo!” Their game was interrupted by Randy, who came into the lounge with dramatic flair. He worked random days at the Habitat, his time split at the local theatre. “I’ve returned, O dear heroes! I have searched high and low, yet I still cannot find your tangle. Forgive me!” 

“It’s fine. Thanks for trying, though!!” Putuina assured, Millie nodding in reply.

“Ah, no need for thanks. Now, little Putuina, is there anything that may help you for tomorrow’s event?”

“Well..” she swung her legs back and forth, careful not to hit the table underneath. “I just need to find a way to release all my pent-up energy! Just enough so I can stay still for the photo!!”

Randy tapped his chin in thought. “Hm… oh! I have a wondrous idea! Stay here, dear girls, and I shall call your savior!” he giggled, quickly leaving the longue as soon as he came. 

“...Well, while we wait,” Putuina dumped a bunch of her pogs onto the table. “HURRICANE!!”

Millie tapped a checker piece all the way to the end of the board and knocked over Putuina’s King. “Hole in one.”

Jimothan shook his head.

* * *

Day Two: 1:10 PM.

After finally cleaning up their mess and putting the board games away into the closet, they attempted to leave the Lounge; only to bump into a giant green wall. They looked up, mutually gasping in surprise.

“Gillis!?” they both shouted, the former bouncer giving his usual sweet smile towards them. 

“Hey, you little rascals! Randy called me up, he said someone needed my,” he took a moment to flex. “EXTREMELY awesome muscles to help save the day!” 

Randy popped from his side, giggling to himself. “Thank you for coming, my beloved Gilliam!”

Gillis sputtered, rubbing the back of his head. “Babe, you’re too cute… uh!! Anyways!! Let’s get to work!”

“What’re gonna do!? Are we gonna lift weights? Cuddle stuffed animals? Cry over dogs?” Putuina asked.

“H-Hey, most of those things didn’t happen! Follow me to the carnival ‘cuz we’re gonna wrestle!”

Putuina squealed, running under the space between his legs to book it to the carnival. Gillis followed her, Randy and Millie hurrying to catch up.

Putuina reached the carnival, waiting with her hands flying about. She had a fierce face, a determined air around her. 

“Alright, ground rules: If I say stop, then stop. If you say stop, then I’ll stop. No matter what, okay? And,” he grabbed a stick nearby, drawing a wide circle around them. “We’re gonna be doing matches! If you can pin me down or make me admit defeat, you score a point! And if you can push me outta the circle, that’s another point for you!”

He chuckled, hands on his hips. “But, I doubt that’s gonna happen. Okay, let’s go-” He screamed, for she already jumped straight at him and was punching with the force of a train.

IMillie tapped Randy’s back. “I’m sorry you’re gonna be a widow.”

“Fear not! I have trust in my beloved Gilly-Willy!” He paused. A small whimper escaped him as Putuina gave him a fierce uppercut. “He’s just going easy on her…!”

Millie shook her head. “It’s a got damn shame.”

* * *

Day Two: 1:50 PM.

Gillis wheezed, taking a knee on the ground. “Okay… I gave it my all, that’s all I got.” He breathed heavily, wiping his brow of sweat.

“You feel… tired yet?”

“Hmm… nope!” 

“Well. I kinda knew this was gonna happen, but I didn’t want to leave you hangin’. Plus, I love any excuse to see my babe.” Randy walked to his side, handing him a bottle of water. He immediately began gulping it down.

“You tried your best, my dearest love! Oh, I shall sing your bittersweet journey to generations, Putuina. I’m sure someone here has the key to your salvation! I just wish…” he trailed off, before his eyes sparkled. “Wait! I think I can offer my help, once more!”

“Please babe, I can’t keep wrestling her. It’s like fighting the world’s fastest dog. And she has everything to gain with nothing to lose.”

“Oh, I’m not implying your services anymore! My dears, see if Trevor is around today! He has all sorts of magic and theories! Personally, when I was going to be starring in Cats, I was ever so worried of performing poorly! But a few crystals and tarot readings later, I memorized everything as I needed to and gave a performance no one could forget!”

“That’s a good idea! Thanks, pickle dweeb.” Millie tapped Putuina’s shoulder. “Let’s get going!”

As they ran off, Randy gave a soft kiss onto Gillis’ cheek. In return, Randy was pulled into a tight hug, the two laughing happily.

* * *

Day Two: 2:00 PM.

“Hey!! Flower Kid!? What’re you doing around here?” Millie sat back in her plastic chair. She dragged it from Trevor’s office, placing it in the courtyard by the pipes.

Flower Kid waved and pointed to eirs bouquet. It was empty, only carrying a few of eirs things like eirs trusty camera.

“Oh, you were delivering flowers here?” Ey nodded.

At that moment, Trevor and Putuina ran back into frame, chasing each other around the courtyard for a good few seconds before racing up the stairs again.

“...You’re probably wondering what’s up with that, huh?” Ey nodded again.

“Well, have you heard what Habit and Kamal are doing?” After a nod, Millie continued with her story, over Putuina’s missing tangle and her anxiety over the whole photo shoot. “So, we went to see Trevor. He said there wasn’t any crystal that could take away energy, as far as he knew. He still wanted to help, so he offered to teach her to run on all fours. Now they’re just chasing each other like dogs!” 

The two passed by again, running in from the carnival to the broilers; then quickly up the stairs yet again. Flower Kid took a quick photo, tucking it into eirs bouquet.

“Hey, you’re the best at helping people out. You got any ideas on what to do?”

Flower Kid paused, tucking eirs bouquet under eirs right arm. Using eirs left hand, ey began signing, slowly and carefully. Millie, like most of the Habiticans, had tried picking up at least some common ASL to make more complex conversations easier with em.

_ “Go hunt for y’owls.”  _ Y’owls had to be finger spelled.

“Oh yeah! Didn’t that make you pass out like five nights in a row tryin’ to grab one?”

Flower Kid looked away sheepishly, then curled eirs fingers, flicking eirs chin with eirs thumb and shook eirs head. Quickly, Flower Kid moved up to eirs head, holding their index and middle finger up to eirs eyes, moving them to the back of the head in a fluid motion.

_ “Don’t remember.” _

Millie laughed loudly, snorting near the end. Flower Kid rolled eirs eyes, though still smiling.

“You’re such a nerd, you flower sap! Good idea, I’ll steal it!!”

Flower Kid, with both eirs hands, twisted and moved eirs fingers together twice before letting eirs fingertips touch. Millie blinked, taking a second to recall the sign.

“Tangle? You’re talking about Putuina’s tangle? Oh, you’re asking what it looks like, right?” Ey gave a thumbs up.

“Well, you’d have to ask Putuina for the exact details, but I kinda remember it. She’s never really shown me it, but I’ve seen her with it at school sometimes. It’s blue, with like pink and white stripes? I think she put a little flower sticker on it?”

Flower Kid nodded, holding eirs bouquet back into eirs hands. Ey turned to the door, pulling out eys trusty floaty hand to wave goodbye.

“Oh, are you going? Why are you…” she trailed off, her eyebrows raising. “WAIT! Have you seen it around!?”

Flower Kid grinned and winked.

“Ah, of course you did! Go get it, Flower Kid!” With a final nod, Flower Kid left through the gates; walking back to eirs bicycle.

* * *

Day Two: 7:00 PM.

“Alright, so it says here,” Millie started, mouth filled with smores. “That they like fire and they like gloves.”

Putuina wiggled her fingers, covered in her winter mittens. “These bad boys have little penguins on them!!! All birds like birds!!”

“And I got my golf club and golf balls, so we can hit that sucker from afar.” They decided to ask Kamal and Habit if they could “camp out” for the night, giving them the chance to hunt down the y’owls.

Neither of them would let them light an actual fire, which did suck. Instead, they had a little night lamp out, powered by batteries. Hopefully, it would be enough.

“Hey, Millie!!” before she could respond, she was tackled into a tight hug, Putuina squeezing her tight.

“You’re the BEST sister ever!! I LOVE YOU!!”

Millie said nothing, but her tight hug back was enough to express everything.

* * *

Day Three: 6:25 AM.

“Putuina, you really stayed up all night..? Geez, I totally passed out on you, huh?” Millie whispered to Putuina, who looked absolutely exhausted. Kamal was getting the dinner table ready, Habit carefully reaching around and looking for his chair.

“It’s okay…” Putuina whispered back, her words sluggish. “There’s no way I’ll be able to move around like this…” she yawned. “I’ll take a nap after the photo shoot! I’ll be good, I’ll be good…”

“Well, alright. Best of luck, okay? I gotta head home today, but I’m always right behind ya. I’m your big sis for a reason!!”

“Right, right… let’s get breakfast, I’m hungry…”

Putuina managed to get to the dinner table, even as she continuously nearly fell asleep; causing her to jolt upwards harshly. She channeled all of her spirit— her soul screaming at her to stay awake, stay awake, stay awake—

She fell asleep, face-planting right onto her plate.

* * *

Day Three:  _??? _

“Flowerbud... Flowerbud...” 

Putuina opened her eyes slightly, her vision slowly coming in. Habit stood above her, his large hand shaking her side lightly. She murmured and yawned, slowly uncurling herself and sitting up on the couch.

  
“Mornin’ dada…”

He chuckled. “Actually, it’s mor like good afternoon!” Habit ruffled her hair.

“Huh…? But we were just at the dinner table…? What time is it?”

“It’s one ‘oh’ clock, my flowerbud!”

“Oh!  _ Oh! _ Oh... “ she frowned. “Oh noooo….”

“What is wrong?”

“Dada,” she said quickly, her pupils small, “Don’t we have to leave in a half hour?! And isn’t the photo shoot at 2:30!?”

“Good on you for rememberign!! But, what is-”

“This is bad!! This is bad!!! I’M GONNA RUIN THE PICTURE!!”

* * *

Day Three: 1:30 PM.

Flower Kid let out heavy pants, clutching eirs bouquet so hard that the flowers inside surely would’ve been crumpled, along with crinkling all of eirs photos; but ey had no time to waste, eirs feet rushing forward as fast as they could to eirs destination— 

Tim Tam’s little hideout in the woods.

* * *

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I am VERY sorry for how long this chapter took. A lot of things happened: Had a bit of a writer's block, I didn't have too many chances to front for about two weeks, got busy with other projects, got even more writer's block... but thank you all for waiting so patiently! And thank you for all of your wonderful comments, they inspired me to keep working even when I was struggling!! And thank you to my best friend Khonjin for always being morale support, giving me ideas and always being there. And a special thank you to my usual editor: Bri. My stories would look like garbage without your amazing edits, thank you for everything.

Another thank you: Thank you to the Anonymous Ao3 user "Turbo" for leaving a comment on my fic: "Morning Bloom." They suggested that if I ever continued that story or the concept, that I should add Millie as she and Putuina have a canon sisterly relationship. They really inspired the Putuina part of this fic and definitely improved it! Moving on...

I hope you don't mind there was only one picture this chapter. While going through the story, I didn't find a lot of moments that I felt needed a drawing. As well, I felt bad for making you all wait this long anyways; I didn't want to spend too much time on drawing. But, I'm happy how it turned out! I'm not very good at drawing Millie, so this was good practice on her! 

The next chapter will be the last, which is going to be a bit bittersweet for me. I really enjoy writing for this particular story, plus I enjoyed my time plotting and drafting what would happen, what jokes would go in, etc. It'll be the end in my first multi-chapter story. A year ago, I was heavily depressed. I was filled with so much hatred, grief and anger. Just utterly stuck in a cycle of pain. Even as I began to improve, I thought I could never write again. Never draw again. Whenever I tried, I just hated what I made. 

But here I am. I'm in such a nice and supportive fandom. I'm writing and drawing almost daily. People tell me they love my stories and people leave such nice tags on my art... it's just so moving. This game really does mean the world to me. So... it's going to be sad to say goodbye to this story; but I'm so happy I was able to write it in the first place. I'll be writing more, of course. I hope you'll enjoy my future stories.

Now, moving on from the fact I'm a Fucking Sap, time to wrap up. Follow my art/writing blog: @Ethervibes on Tumblr! My personal blog is @transfemhabit, where I reblog content! Feel free to talk to me on either account! Please leave a kudo/bookmark/comment if you enjoyed this, that means the world to me. Have a great day/night! :-)


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